With only three games left of the season, the FNB Ikey Tiger are up against Brackenfell in their next game. The two teams are close to each other on the log, and recent results suggest that this will be a tightly contested game.

“I’ve watched some of their games so I know they’re a good side. They’ve won seven matches so far, so they’re in a similar position to us on the log,” explained head coach Christiaan Esterhuizen.

“They had a close game against Victorians and they only lost by a bit. We drew against Vics, so that’s a good measure of what we can expect on Saturday,” Esterhuizen added.

After being less than satisfied with last week’s performance, Esterhuizen spoke about making sure that it is not repeated this week. “They’ve got a confident backline and a strong scrum, but we’re going to try take it to the next level. Teams always expect us to play the UCT brand of rugby, but this time we’re going to up the tempo and basically try to outrun them, although it is much easier said than done,” he explained,

“The players know we want better, and they learnt their lesson last week so they’re taking things much more seriously now because they know this will definitely not be a walk in the park,”

In terms of team news, Esterhuizen noted that around four players from last week’s team are set to miss out on this game due to them all having the flu.

The FNB Ikey Tigers travel to Brackenfell A on Saturday, the 13th of August to take on Brackenfell. Kick-off is at 16:00. After that, their remaining fixtures include a game against Belhar before they clash with a high flying Hamiltons side.